1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to seating for motor vehicles, and particularly to a backrest for motorcycles, which provides an adjustable backrest that may be removably secured to a conventional motorcycle seat without modification of the seat to provide additional support and comfort to the cyclist.
2. Description of the Related Art
The conventional motorcycle has an elongate and relatively narrow seat that is straddled by the cyclist during operation, and also by the passenger if a passenger happens to accompany the cyclist. Conventional motorcycle seats are not provided with any form of back support, as the need for back support is not considered critical by most motorcycle manufacturers. While some exceptions occur, particularly in higher end motorcycles, the above is generally true with motorcycles built primarily for the transport of a single operator and for speed and handling qualities.
As a result, many customized motorcycles have been constructed with seat back support, particularly in the form of so-called “sissy bars” for the rear passenger. Such bars are often more of a style statement than a practical support for the passenger, but other seat backrests have also been developed for the operator of the motorcycle as well. These various motorcycle operator backrests are generally permanently installed, and even those that are removable generally require some permanent modification to the motorcycle in the form of drilled holes, weldments, added brackets, etc. Moreover, even when installed, such backrests do not provide the range of adjustment in terms of fore and aft positioning, height adjustment, and angular rake adjustment that would be desired to suit a wide range of different riders and/or conditions.
The present inventor is aware of various motorcycle seat backrests that have been developed in the past. An example of such is found in Canadian Patent Publication No. 2,304,455 published on Nov. 1, 2001 to Mario Leblanc et al. According to the drawings (no English abstract or translation was provided), the device of the '455 Canadian Patent Publication comprises a backrest supported on an arm, the arm being adjustably mounted atop a bracket. The base of the bracket appears to have a plurality of attachment holes therein, but no attachment or environmental view is illustrated.
Thus, a backrest for motorcyclists solving the aforementioned problems is desired.